Thank you so much to my betas velvetglove and jacynrebekah.
All remaining mistakes are my own.

1.

It's not the first ethically questionable decision Lex has
made for the sake of LexCorp, but it's the hardest. Blackmailing
Lionel's assistant, for example, had been great fun. Agreeing to use
the labor of Chinese prison inmates was considerably less enjoyable.
But Lex really needed to underbid LuthorCorp for the Pommador contract.
This would ensure that he could.

Lex knows as he's doing it that it's the sort of thing Clark
would disapprove of, but the article under the Kent and Lane byline two
weeks later still comes as a shock. Lex doesn't need to guess who
tipped them off.

2.

Dinner that night is a silent affair. They had long since
agreed not to bring the office home. This wasn't the first time the
Planet had printed unfavorable news about Lex just the first time it
had been written by Clark. That stung a bit.

"Using someone's own words against him is not a very
honorable tactic."

"You're lecturing me about honor?" Clark returns Lex's angry
glare, then sighs heavily, "Can we just leave it at the office?"

3.

Lex wants to let it lie, but three days of near-silence
between them is enough to break him. "You know that Lionel wanted the
contract as a springboard for a hostile takeover? Hundreds of people
would have lost their jobs."

"I do know that. I can see your reasoning; I just hate it
that you have to make those kinds of choices."

Clark's expression is tender, and Lex is ready to repent and
throw himself on Clark's mercy until he adds, "Besides, how much of it
was concern for people's livelihood and how much was about beating your
father?"

4.

Clark announces he's been offered the post as the Planet's
Paris correspondent, the opportunity of a lifetime. He's glowing with
joy and pride. His shining eyes look right through Lex into a brighter
future.

Lex knows he should suggest they go out to celebrate, but
he's certain he'll vomit at the sight of food.

Two months since the article and things still aren't the same
between them. Maybe this is the escape opportunity Clark's been waiting
for.

Lex suggests as much, and Clark just shakes his head sadly.
"That's not what I want. I want you to come with me."

5.

The anticipated explosion comes three days later. It's almost
a relief.

"Damn it, Lex. Can't you see that you're rotting here?" Clark
shouts.

"Where else would I go? Metropolis is my domain. I will
either conquer it or it will conquer me," Lex responds calmly.

Clark's teeth are clenched, but he manages to lower his
voice. He hates to be the only one shouting. "Maybe you could go
someplace where conquering isn't an issue at all."

"Now where's the fun in that?" It's okay to be cruel because
Clark has hurt him too. If he really loved Lex, he'd stay.

6.

The relationship continues to deteriorate in the weeks
leading up to Clark's departure. Clark is fixated on the absurd idea
that Lex can abandon his life's work and run away to France.

Nine days before Clark is supposed to leave he calls to tell
Lex he'll be sleeping at Lois' for his remaining time in the United
States. On the couch, he has the mercy to add.

Lex learns that Clark's absence hurts even more than his
angry, reproachful stares. Part of him wonders why he ever thought he'd
be allowed to keep something that made him so happy anyway.

7.

Lex isn't sure what to feel when Clark arrives at his office
four hours before the plane is scheduled to leave. He doesn't want to
hope, but Clark has always been able to bring out that last shred of
optimism Lionel didn't beat out of him.

Clark's eyes look haunted, and he appears to have lost
weight. "I've come to say goodbye," he explains.

Lex had thought Clark's absence was painful, but it doesn't
compare to the gut-wrenching agony of seeing him this close and knowing
he's lost him.

The initial polite inquiries inevitably give way to pleading
and shouting.

8.

"Please, Lex," Clark sounds desperate. "You can still come
with me."

"And you could still choose to stay."

"But I'm doing this for us."

"You're leaving me for us?"

Clark covers his eyes with his hand then lets it drop,
exclaiming, "You know, you used to claim to be fighting your destiny,
but you certainly didn't fight very hard." Clark storms out, the door
slamming behind him.

Lex is a certified genius, but it takes him two full weeks of
pondering. When he finally figures it out, it's like a prisoner
discovering the cell door has been open all along.

9.

Another month and Lex has finished slicing up and selling off
the company he worked so hard to build.

Surprisingly, it doesn't feel like cutting out his heart. His
heart is whole and well waiting for him across the ocean.

Four hours after signing the final papers Lex is on the
plane, watching out the window as the city he was born to rule shrinks
to no more than a toy, bought to teach a child a lesson in strategy.

Trojan horses weren't always used to invade. Sometimes, in
the form of Kansas boys, they could be used to escape.

10.

Lex loved teaching undergrad. They weren't sophisticated, but
their enthusiasm was charming.

"An Oracle predicts that Paris will bring about the ruin of
his kingdom. Like Oedipus, the path Paris takes to avoid his destiny
only leads him right back into the hands of fate, causing Troy's
destruction. These stories are the Greeks' warning to mere mortals.
Don't fuck with fate. Your destiny will always find you in the end. But
was Paris forced to wage war over Helen or was it a choice?" Lex turns
and writes the question on the board for emphasis.